Waitlist or Waitlost?

What is the probability of getting a seat for a course of which I have been waitlisted? Are we generally allowed to enrol in other courses as a back up in case we don’t get the seat for a waitlisted course?

The probability of getting into courses can be very varied depending on the kind of course it is (required for a program, priority enrolment, etc.). However, in most first year courses, I have found that around 10-15% of the class drops the course by the waitlist deadline which is on September 18 this year. So if you are ranked 70 in a class waitlist with a maximum enrolment size of 1000, I would say you have a pretty decent chance of getting into the course before the academic year starts.
Another option is enrolling into the course when the waitlists are closed but enrolment is still open (September 18 – September 25). In this week, if someone drops the course you are looking to enrol in and you happen to log in to your ACORN account moments later (or before someone else who wants to enrol in the course), you will be able to enrol in the course. There is some luck at play in this situation.
I would definitely suggest having some back-up courses, especially for smaller courses. Do keep in mind that you can only add 5.0 FCEs on your course enrolment start day and that you’ll have to wait till noon on August 5th to be able to add 1.0 more FCE for a total of 6.0 FCEs. Due to this limit, some pre-planning is helpful. If you are at your 5.0 FCE limit on your enrolment start day but still want to get on the waitlist for more courses, it maybe beneficial to you to leave signing up for really big classes until noon on August 5th since they are unlikely to fill up.
If you would like more help, please contact your registrar’s office or ask us another question. Happy course enrolment!